New mezzanine opens at Clark/Division stop

Mayor Emanuel and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin opened the new mezzanine at the Clark/Division Red Line stop Monday.

Mayor Emanuel and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin opened the new mezzanine at the Clark/Division Red Line stop Monday.

By Tracy Swartz, @tracyswartzRedEye

Mayor Emanuel and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin hailed the reopening of the Clark/Division stop's new mezzanine Monday morning.

The 8,800-square-foot mezzanine at LaSalle and Division Streets is part of the $50 million upgrade to the Clark/Division stop on the Near North Side. The Chicago Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the project, is now rebuilding the station's original 1940s mezzanine and platform through the middle of 2015.

For that phase of the project, station entrances on Clark Street will close temporarily but no streets will close. Part of Division Street was closed for the new mezzanine project.

When the project is complete, the station will have two new elevators, three new escalators, new granite floors and stairs, new security equipment and customer-assistance kiosks and bike ramps and racks, among other features.

"Having world-class infrastructure is a key focus for any world-class city," Emanuel said in a press release.

In the release, the mayor's office touted the early completion of the new mezzanine, which was slated to open in September. But construction began late on the project.

In January 2012, the mayor's office said the work on the mezzanine was slated to begin in March 2012 and end in March 2014. But prep work didn't begin until August 2012. A CDOT spokesman didn't provide a reason for the delay at the time.

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